The Downfall of Hogwarts and Sanity
by DayLightScreamer
Summary: This is the story of what happens when you give four teenage, American girls wands and three years of training, then send them to Hogwarts with quite the rap sheet. Poor Hogwarts won't know what hit them. rating may go up
1. Chapter 1

**_A:N/_HIYA! My sister and I made yet another story. This time with real people...kinda. This story takes place during the fourth year (year, book, whatever) with the main characters as none other than me and my twisted friends. Just so ya know, our names have been changed so don't get any ideas, but our personalities are just like how you'll read them! So um...yeah. Hope ya like it!**

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The train chugged along, carrying the four students to their new school. The beautiful scenery was lost on the four girls, however, as they resolutely ignored the countryside. After only a moment one of the girls gave up on her decision to remain silent and be a good sport about the whole deal that she'd made just minutes ago and opened her mouth.

"I'm bored, fix it" she sighed, looking around the compartment once again. No one reacted to her words and kept going with what they were doing. Emi looked back down at the rubber band she'd been playing with for the last hour and sighed again.

"I'm really, really, _really_ bored. Doesn't anyone care?" she asked, mostly to herself. Her friend didn't look up from her book as she curled up more comfortably on the seat.

"Yeah, Emi," she said calmly, "we heard."

"I want to do something."

"So do something."

"I don't know what to do." (If anyone recognizes this discussion they can fully understand how you don't actually have to pay attention to the whiner to fulfill your part of the conversation.)

"Sorry."

Ravan apparently didn't care in the least that her friend was suffering the agonies of boredom. She went on with her book as if the compartment was empty. Out of desperation Emi glanced over at the other two girls traveling with her. Jewl was also buried in a book, and had been for the last hour or so. Finally Emi got up to explore the train once again, this time dragging Lizi along.

It was obvious that the train was designed to carry many more students than it currently held; there were signs of wear and tear in all of the compartments and they didn't think that the trolley was designed to feed just four girls, not even girls with as large appetites as they had. But this conjecture didn't keep Emi and Lizi from boredom and they soon returned to the compartment to stare disappointedly out the rapidly darkening window. Soon after it fell dark Lizi went back to her game of solitaire and Emi was left with drawing pictures on the window with her breath.

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The cart lady was very nice to them the entire trip. She helpfully explained what all the candies she carried were and didn't laugh at their disgust or confusion over the foods. Once they'd arrived at the station they thought it was very odd when she told them to get straight into the carriages and head for Hogwarts without so much as an explanation why. But, as far as Emi was concerned, the woman's real crime was in not warning them about what _pulled_ said carriages. She nearly had a heart attack when she saw the Thestrals pawing the ground. Her friends watched in astonishment as Emi jumped back a good two feet and latched onto Lizi and Ravan's arms.

"Holy crap!" Emi screamed. "What the hell are those?"

Jewl looked at her oddly. "What are you talking about?"

"Those, those-" clearly at a loss for words the teenage girl just gestured, not letting go of her friends. "Those _things_ right there!"

Unfortunately the other three girls didn't see anything and they dragged her into the carriage over her protests. They thought she was succumbing to her overactive imagination again. Despite her repeated descriptions of what was in front of the carriage none of the other girls believed her.

"They're monsters!" Emi yelled over and over.

"I told you she shouldn't have been allowed near the TV before we left," Lizi muttered under her breath. Emi shot her a dirty look and continued her rant.

After a little while of traveling and calming Emi down they arrived at the castle. Unbeknownst to them the arrival of students such as these was unheard of at Hogwarts. They had their share of misfits, Fred and George Weasley at the moment, but never had they played host to other schools rejections. These students had come to Hogwarts with quite the reputation.

The four girls stepped out of the carriage and walked up the steps to meet two of their new teachers: Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. The four girls instinctively arranged themselves in a line before the teachers. It was a showdown. After a moment Professor McGonagall started her welcome speech, which was remarkably similar to the speech given to the first years at the beginning of term, but the girls weren't the least bit interested in the lecture. They constantly whispered to each other during the entire bit.

Snape, they noticed, grew more and more unpleasant looking as the introduction went on and the girls didn't listen. McGonagall didn't look any more pleased but she hadn't expected much else. Finally they moved on to the actual castle. The girls stopped in the doorway and looked around solemnly. For an instant the teachers thought that they were impressed with the building and were secretly proud of their new school. Then the conversation took a little twist and left them, once again, confused.

"Is the whole castle made of stone?" Jewl asked, glancing at the teachers. McGonagall couldn't see why that was important but told her that was the case.

Immediately Ravan turned to Emi and grinned. "Hey Emi," she said. "It won't burn!" To the teachers shock Jewl and Emi did a high five at that pronouncement. The fourth girl didn't seem affected by the outburst and calmly continued her observations of the room.

"So there's no wood in the castle at all?" Lizi asked finally.

"The doors," Snape told her, "the stairs, some furniture." Clearly, thought the teachers, they had a pyromaniac in the castle. And they knew who it was immediately as Emi snapped her fingers and said, "Damn."

"You know," Lizi continued after a moment, "this looks a lot like the halls back home. They were great wind tunnels."

"NO!" all three girls yelled, spinning and bracing themselves instinctively.

"If I can't you can't," Emi added. The other two girls nodded in agreement and Lizi sighed.

"Alright." Then Lizi smiled at the teachers. "What next?" she asked.

The teachers hurriedly gave them their room assignments and class schedules, then hustled off to their various dorms. McGonagall took the precaution of informing them that the location and passwords of the dorms were not to be shared with students of other houses. The girls appeared to be in shock.

"How will we visit?"

"We're being separated?"

"What are we going to do?"

"Why can't we?"

"What if we plug their ears when we say it?" They were the questions pelted at the two poor teachers as they tried to explain the structure of the school. Eventually the teachers settled for escaping without ending the discussion and fairly hid for the rest of the day. The new students were something else.

Eventually the girls went their separate ways, although very reluctantly and with plans to meet up as soon as they were awake the next morning to explore. They weren't exactly pleased with being all alone in the dormitories in a strange castle with no one nearby. This term was off to a _smashing_ success.

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The next morning, much later than they had planned, all of the girls met up in the Great Hall to get breakfast and start exploring. All of them had gotten lost. Sitting down at the Hufflepuff table (they didn't understand the seating arrangements yet) they tried to find something familiar in the food.

"I think this is oatmeal," Jewl said, spooning up a scoop and letting it dribble back into the bowl.

"Hey, something we recognize," Emi exclaimed.

"Yeah," Lizi said, "too bad it's oatmeal mush."

"Hm," Jewl agreed and dropped the spoon.

"Is this sausage?" Emi asked, poking the patty cautiously.

"I don't think so Emi." Ravan laughed at her friend as Emi hastily pulled her fork back. Ravan held out a plate. "Fruit anyone?" she asked.

"What kind?" Jewl asked, all of them looking interested.

"Well, we have pears and cantaloupe, and I'm not sure what the rest of this is."

"This is an encouraging start to the new year," one of them sarcastically. Unbeknownst to them Dumbledor had joined them and was watching their breakfast from the teacher's table. They hadn't met the Headmaster yet and weren't going to that day.

Ravan sniffed cautiously at one of the drinks on the table. "Anyone know what this is?" she asked frowning. Emi reached over for the glass and smelled.

"Coffee," she said immediately. "Really, really bad coffee."

"That is really messed up coffee," Ravan said. Emi shrugged.

"In Britain the big thing for a long time was tea," Jewl told them. Emi rolled her eyes and grinned at her friend.

About ten minutes later the girls had picked at the various foods and drinks enough to know that they weren't going to eat anymore. Wishing devoutly that someone had considered their differing tastes as Americans they gave up on breakfast and headed out to explore. It had been dark by the time they'd gotten to the castle last night so they had only gotten an impression of the size of the school. Now they were getting a real experience with the large building. After a few minutes they were feeling very small.

They wandered for several minutes before one of them (they would never recall who) suggested that they split up to cover more ground. There was a small disagreement over who went where before they finally divided, agreeing to meet back in the Great Hall in one hour. Ravan and Lizi headed down the stairs while Emi and Jewl started trying various doors.

Ravan and Lizi wound up in the dungeons and carefully peeked around the corners. Something was smelling rather weird and there were odd sounds everywhere. Both girls were walking with their wands out though they didn't notice, and they were secretly starting to get freaked out.

"Where are we Ravan?" Lizi asked quietly. The other girl shrugged. Ravan's talent was finding her way back, not in knowing where they were. They went around another corner and stopped dead. "And what is that smell?" They both smiled although the question was justified. Something reeked down here.

"What is that?" Ravan stated, not really wanting an answer. The door was half open in front of them and was decorated in a very unusual way. Since when did a wizard-dominated world use fuchsia and lavender as stylistic colors? And behind the door was-

"What are you doing here?" At the sound from behind them both girls jumped clear off the floor and screamed their lungs out. Spinning they found one of the Professors that had met them the previous day. They were too terrified to think of his name.

"What are you doing!" Ravan yelled at him, still trying to catch her breath. Lizi nodded in agreement, likewise panting.

"I believe I asked you first," he said coldly. Lizi gave him an odd look and sniffed.

"Oh," was all she said. (If you're confused, check the above questions.)

"We're exploring," Ravan told him, "not breaking and entering. Why'd you sneak up on us like that?"

"Perhaps, if one is to go exploring in a castle, one would be advised to let others know where they are." Professor Snape wasn't amused with their theatrics.

"Perhaps when one comes across some students a teacher shouldn't scare the living daylights out of them," Lizi suggested.

Ravan straightened slightly and looked archly right in his eyes. "Besides, we told Emi and Jewl where we were going. And since when are students confined to their rooms?"

"As soon as I can clear it with the Headmaster," he ground out. "Walk." With that he pointed back the way they came and followed the two girls away from the door and the very interesting room. Ravan and Lizi had no choice but to head back to the Great Hall.

Emi and Jewl were having better luck, in avoiding teachers that is. They'd found nothing, not even old boring stuff. And all the doors were locked. With a disgusted kick to yet another door Emi backed away and gave up trying to pick the lock.

"This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed. "Who the heck went around locking all the doors?"

"They probably did that when they found out we were coming." Jewl grinned at her friend's scowl.

"Well that's very rude of them. We should sue."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They walked on and found, surprise, yet more doors. Without much enthusiasm they walked along the walls and tried each knob. They'd almost used up the possibilities when the door Jewl was trying jerked open and pulled her in. Unfortunately it wasn't a room exactly.

"Jewl, are you alright?" Emi called from the edge of the pit. Her friend was several feet down sitting rather disgruntedly on a floor of sand.

"Yeah," she called up. "The floor broke my fall." Emi thought about that for a second then shrugged. Whatever.

"Can you get out?" she tried. Jewl pulled herself to her feet and walked to the wall. It moved away from her.

"Oh this isn't fair," they both chimed. Then they broke up laughing.

Emi waved her wand sarcastically in the air. "Give some magic a try," she suggested.

Jewl used several spells before something took and she could finally clamber out of the hole.

"Great, now I'm hungry _and_ dirty."

"But at least you're in one piece." Emi's words of consolation earned her an elbow to her side.

"Ow," Emi complained, but not too loud.

"When are we supposed to meet the others?" Jewl asked as she had no watch.

"Oh, in about five minutes."

"How far away are we?"

"An hour or so. Assuming you remember how to get back."

"Oh." They turned around and headed back. Almost as a last thought Emi reached out and tried one more door. To their surprise it opened. They stared at what was inside for a moment before they began to grin.

"Oh, this is more like it," Jewl said. "Much more like it."

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Snape had insisted that he accompany them back to the Great Hall and was now waiting for the other two girls to arrive. He intended to have a nice long talk with them before taking them to the Headmaster. Ravan and Lizi were sure this was a record for them. In trouble at school _before_ the term even began.

Both girls stiffened when the heard the 'whoop' in the distance. Snape didn't seem to hear it. When it came again, but louder, they looked at each other. Something crashed in the distance and Snape looked up from searching Ravan's bag. Both girls turned to stare at the door and gritted their teeth.

"YAHOOO!" Emi yelled as she came barreling around the corner on the broom. Right behind her was Jewl on her own broom doing twisted loops around the back of Emi's broom. Ravan and Lizi immediately dove for cover below the table. Snape was in too much shock to move until they nearly ran him over. They pulled up the nose of their brooms as hard as they could and slowed to a stop just in front of the teacher's table.

This would be the last time they ever saw Professor Severus Snape speechless. He just pointed towards the hall and finally sputtered at them to go straight to their dorms and stay there. Their Head of House's would deal with them. Emi winced as she remembered that Snape was the head of her house. They silently left the room, walking past the stunned faces of McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Hagrid. (Hagrid snuck them a secret smile.)

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**_A:N/_ Yay! Now review time! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Let us know if it was good, bad, or inbetween. Oh, and if ya have any ideas for sumthin to happen, let me know and I'll get it to my sister. We do have a whole year to cover. l8r!**


	2. Chapter 2

**_A:N/_ We hope that everyone liked the last chappy, cuz there's more like it coming.**

**Disclaimer: Oops, kinda forgot this part last time. hehe. Well, obviously i , nor my sis, own HP or anything to do with it. BUT! We do own the four American girls, and something else i can't remember... oh well.DON'T SUE ME!**

The trains had arrived and the students were piling off. Chattering like magpies the students looked like ants milling about instead people. Friends got off together, hurrying to the carriages for the best spots. The nervous first years followed Hagrid to the boats. Everything was perfectly normal.

The students hurried into the Great Hall and looked around in satisfaction at being back. For most of the students it was like a second home and they were glad to see it.

"I swear you're cheating!" The voice was the only warning the students had that something was different this year. The kids in front stopped dead when they saw the four girls. They were sitting on the raised platform the teachers eat on, playing some card game, wearing what looked like muggle clothes with the outer robe of the uniform over that. The blonde one had even tied her robe into a knot behind her back. One girl was laying on her side, two were crossed legged with one leg lying completely over the other, and the last girl lay on her stomach while she played and laughed. Occasionally there was a mini-explosion from the pile of cards and most of the girls had soot marks on their clothes or faces.

"What are you doing!" McGonagall demanded, looking as stern as ever. The girls looked blankly at her.

"Huh?" one of them said.

"Where are your uniforms?" That's when the students realized what they were wearing. The girls grinned as they looked at their shirts. They said, in order, "Don't Question Me!", "Careful! I had a bowl of cranky this morning", "Angel behaving badly", and "Don't worry, I forgot your name too". All four girls had on jeans and muggle shoes. Several of the Hogwarts students couldn't help laughing at the small group.

"Uniforms are, like, restrictive," one of the girls said. She was the girl with the "Don't Question Me!" shirt and blonde streaked brown hair. The other girls echoed her, emphasizing the ditzy accent between giggles.

"Totally," the blond added, using the perfect druggy tone. No one else got the joke, but the four girls cracked up and nearly choked laughing. Then they noticed the group of students at the door (most of whom were unable to see the hold up and were getting irritated) and clammed up. They headed for the tables like McGonagall ordered and took the loss of points without the slightest bit of remorse. The points were one thing the teachers had forgotten to explain.

Once the students were no longer staring at the girls they seemed to recover. During the Sorting they relaxed even further. Emi had snuck her CD player in and was half-asleep listening to Disturbed; Lizi was jingling her leg so fast the plates and goblets were jittering across the table; Jewl was zoned out and mouthing random words, much to the dismay of her tablemates; and Ravan was reading a book hidden on her lap. The teachers just frowned and let it slide.

"And now," Dumbledor said after the last first year had been Sorted, "I would like to introduce four new students who have joined us from America. Please welcome Jewl Desean of Gryffindor, Ravan Daniels of Ravenclaw (much laughter), Lizi Archer of Hufflepuff, and Emi Henderson of Slytherin." The whole Great Hall applauded politely, looking around for the new students. But none of the girls had noticed their names and were still sitting and ignoring everything.

"Ahem," Dumbledor said, then raised his voice and repeated the names. At first it seemed that they were still oblivious (and no one wanted to approach them) until Ravan and Lizi happened to look up and notice that everyone was looking at them. They glanced at each other, wondering what was up when Dumbledor asked them to stand. Then they got it.

"Emi!" Lizi hissed.

"Jewl!" Ravan did likewise, and to the surprise of the entire student body both girls heard that while they hadn't heard Dumbledor at all. The four girls stood uneasily and endured the staring and applause unhappily. Indeed, Emi and Jewl looked slightly pale and sat down as soon as possible.

Weren't they off to a great start? And it got better when the feast began. They didn't recognize most of the food and either asked their neighbors what the food was, tried it blindly, or just ignored it. Basically they were going to bed that night hungry. Most of the kids were nice enough to explain what was what but they also found it highly amusing when Emi said, "Pumpkin juice? Who the heck drinks pumpkin juice? Don't you have any Dr. Pepper?" Several of the student's wanted to know what Dr. Pepper was but the girls were clamming up under all of the attention and the questions went unanswered.

After the feast the girls were the first kids out of the room. Clinging together they wandered away, not caring in the least where they were (they'd missed the part of the lecture that mentioned the curfew), until they got caught by another student. He was the blond kid from the Slytherin table that Emi had sat at. He approached with his two faithful bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle, Pansy Parkinson, and Blaise Zabini and somehow blocked them into a corner.

"So," Draco drawled. "America. That right?" The girls looked at each other, clearly wondering what the point of the sentence was. Hadn't Dumbledor told the entire school that they were from America?

"Um, yeah," Ravan said slowly. They tried to edge away but couldn't.

"I hear that in America the schools are even more polluted than Hogwarts." Draco may have thought he was making sense but the girls were even more confused. Their last school had been perfectly clean, until the accident. "They let all sorts of people in. What do you know about that?"

"Huh?" Emi said finally.

"Are you always this stupid?" he asked, a bit unwisely.

"Are you always this pointless?" Emi shot back.

"Draco," Pansy simpered, "I don't think they know what you are talking about."

'Duh,' all of the girls thought.

"Then I'll make this simple. What is your family?" If Draco thought that'd make things clear, he was wrong.

"What are you talking about?" Emi asked.

"You know," he said.

"Actually, we don't. Would you get out of our way now?" Lizi asked.

"Are you purebloods?" Draco said boldly. And they still didn't know what he was talking about.

"What the hell is a pureblood?" Emi asked, then got kicked in the ankle by Jewl.

"Stop swearing," Jewl hissed. Emi scowled at her.

"How do you not know what a pureblood is?" Draco asked. Pansy 'ooohhed', making the girls raise their eyebrows in bemusement.

"I'll bet they're mud bloods," she crowed.

"What?" Lizi asked. Then Emi frowned.

"I've heard that before. Darn it, what does that mean?" Emi wondered out loud. Draco said something rude and took a deep breath.

"Mud blood, as in having filthy muggle parents," he ground out. The light dawned in Emi's eyes and Jewl looked like she was slowly catching on but the other two had no idea what was going on.

"Okay, I get it. Muggles are non-magic people," Emi said. The other two immediately caught on.

"So mudblood is when you have non-magical parents and pureblood is when you have magical parents?" Lizi asked.

"That's a silly way to describe people," Jewl said.

"A pureblood is someone who's family has been purely magical for the entire line," Blaise said, speaking for the first time. He didn't look all that interested in the conversation and just wanted to move on.

"Oh, like Emi," Lizi said. All of the Slytherin's turned to look at the girl who's shirt said "Don't question me!" and as a group they turned friendly.

"Isn't your family like that Jewl?" Ravan asked. The other brunette shook her head.

"No, only for about three generations." None of the girls really thought this a big deal. In America the magic and muggle worlds were far more blended than in England and they hadn't realized that.

"What about you two?" Draco asked Lizi and Ravan, sneering slightly. Emi noticed and got a funny look on her face but didn't say anything.

"Oh, my dad's magic but my mom's not," Ravan said, not paying much attention.

Lizi glanced around before speaking. "Both of my parents are Divins."

Everyone gave a confused look. "What the hell is a 'Divin'?" Draco sneered.

"Divin is what we call Muggles," Emi said unsure of the responses.

"Oh great, another Mudblood to deal with." At Draco's prompting looks the rest of his group laughed appreciatively at his razor-sharp wit. The four girls in front of him didn't get it and looked blandly back at him. "What," he continued, "too many big words in there for you?"

"Oh, I didn't know you knew any big words," Emi said bitingly, refusing to laugh at the other's expressions at her bold words.

Ravan looked around as if no one was there. "Oh, did someone say something? I wasn't paying attention." Silence held for a moment as the castle waited.

"What?" the Prince of Slytherin demanded finally, sounding as if what they were saying was too far from belief to be real. Two of the girls snicker out loud right in his face and the other two just grin. But their amusement only lasted for a minute. Pansy, the only girl in the Slytherin group, noticed that Lizi had crossed her arms tightly and stood slightly behind Ravan. None of the other girls looked remotely amused at Draco's line of conversation. Blaise was leaning against the wall behind his companions wondering if this interrogation by Draco was the best idea and Pansy was beginning to think along the same lines. Something in their faces was a lot more deadly looking than was safe for the Slytherins.

"He's a waste of time, guys," Jewl said to the others. "Let's go." In a synchronous movement the girls formed a wedge and forced their way through the blockade of teenagers. Before any of the blockaders could say something they had turned the corner and were gone. Draco said something not polite at their "backs" and one of them called back, "That wasn't very nice!"

**_A:N/_ Sorry to all those Draco lovers, but we had to do this part, plus he totally deserved it. and now, REVIEW! it means a lot and helps tons to get feedback, and makes updating quicker. so untill next time, REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**_A:N/_ ...ENJOY!**

Once again, the girls got lost. The only one who had any idea where she was going was Ravan and she had stopped to find Lizi, meaning that they were still late for breakfast. The other two girls stumbled in, looking very sleepy, and slumped at their respective tables to hunt through the food for anything edible. Emi wasn't getting much help at the Slytherin table as most of them were still trying to figure her out. Draco Malfoy had spread the word of her ignorance about the purity of blood and now everyone was afraid to speak to her.

At the Ravenclaw table Ravan was fast loosing her appetite as she listened to the intense discussion on classes they hadn't started yet. She was as eager to learn as any Ravenclaw, but she preferred to leave that until they'd eaten. And she'd never, in her life, sounded so obsessed about it as her tablemates were. Wearily she pulled out her book and stuck her nose resolutely in it to drown out the chatter.

Lizi was doing much better at the Hufflepuff table. They'd quickly realized that she had no idea what the food was and were quietly trying to figure out what she liked. With their help she was the first of the four to get a decent meal as they explained and encouraged until she had a nice selection going. But she was as tired as the rest of them and was just wishing for some soda as she ate, trying to wake up.

And Jewl at the Gryffindor table, was having about as much fun as Emi. They'd realized that she was hanging out with a Slytherin, albeit one none of them had had trouble with as of yet, and were keeping a safe distance. And it was her bad luck to be sitting next to Neville Longbottom who couldn't string a sentence together to save his life. Jewl eventually just poked at some food, drank some orange juice, and ate lots of toast. All in all this was not going well for them. And they were all getting real homesick.

Just when they all thought they'd fall asleep at the table the owl post arrived. To their shock (they'd never seen the owl post before) four owls headed for them, dropping good-sized packages on their plates. Curious, they looked at the sender and realized that Emi's sister was listed.

Emi frowned, she hadn't expected anything from her sister for another few weeks. She was busy with starting college and had left early when the disaster back home had hit the fan. Emi had envied her at the time. Still a bit surprised she ripped open the brown paper and found several boxes stacked together with an envelope taped to the top. The letter inside made her eyes open wide.

_"Emi-_

_Sorry I missed your leaving. Miss you lots. We realized that we missed your birthday with all the ruckus, so I sent it via some weird owl post. Be glad a dorm mate is familiar with England and knew how to get this to you. The larger present is from the parents, the smaller one is from us kids. Hope it's all going well._

_Love, Ellie_

_P.S. Said dorm mate also told me what the food was like, so enjoy the enclosed."_

Really curious now Emi started to work open the large, flat box when she heard a bunch of whoop's from the other tables. All three girls were standing up with a box packed with American food. Some of it was homemade and preserved with magic, some of it was junk food. All of the families had obviously contributed as each box was tailored to what each girl liked. Lizi was grinning as she pulled out her favorite soda. Jewl held the instant coffee close and just sighed. And Ravan couldn't stop laughing. Her parents hadn't sent just food, but a joke book to keep her sane. Raising an eyebrow at the results of the package Emi turned back to her own. Even the Slytherin's were curious now.

"Holy cow!" she exclaimed, pulling a laptop out of the package. It was a slick one too. Very compact, all black with silver trimming (she grinned, they'd paid attention), and, as the note attached said, workable around magic. There were spells on it that allowed it to work in any environment and that also connected it to the internet without a phone connection so she could surf the web and use e-mail. "Wow." Emi was speechless.

"Gosh, it looks great!" Lizi exclaimed as she rushed over to see the computer. "Better than the pictures."

"You knew this was coming?" Emi asked her, astonished that she'd kept the secret.

"We all knew, sort of." Jewl plopped down next to her friend, ignoring the stares and gasps of the other Slytherins. "Ellie asked us, on behalf of your parents, to look around and pick out some things you'd want. But that was before. I thought they'd changed their minds."

"Yeah, wait until you see what it has," Ravan said, looking over her other shoulder.

"Hey, you got a small box too," Lizi said suddenly.

"Ellie said that was my birthday present from her and the guys."

"We all got one, but I haven't opened it yet," Ravan said, and the other girls said the same thing. "Okay, all open it on three." They grinned but followed Ravan's suggestion. "One, Two, Three."

What they found were almost identical phones. They weren't exactly cell phones because these had only four numbers to be preprogrammed but they were still cool. And they were all their favorite colors. Next to the buttons on each phones were the names of the other three girls so they could call each other and the fourth button left open. They could program in whatever number they wanted.

"Your family has style," Jewl said finally, staring in disbelief at her phone.

"The guys probably picked out the model and programmed them," Emi said, slightly in shock, "Ellie chose the colors and whatnot."

"Tell us when you write a thank-you note, we'll sign it with you." The girls stared at each other before hearing the teachers start to hand out the class schedules. They left, leaving Emi to stare in delight at her new toys. When she opened up the laptop she found a post-it note on the frame of the screen. The handwriting was her step-mom's but it wasn't signed.

_"Don't complain of being bored again."_

She laughed, sounding slightly dazed, before closing it again and carefully placing it in her bag. The phone she clipped to her skirt (yes, they were in uniform, the Head's had had a long talk with them about it), using a spell to ensure it wouldn't fall off, then she received her schedule. They all four grabbed their bags and hurried to the hall to compare their schedules.

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Lizi and Jewl followed the crowd to the greenhouse for their Herbology class. They stood together apprehensively, looking around. Jewl kept her hands carefully tucked under her arms so she didn't touch anything. She'd had bad experiences with plants and greenhouses before. Lizi didn't say anything but she got a smile out of it.

That smile didn't last as they were told their assignment. Bubotuber pus. Eeew! The rest of the class muttered, not all that thrilled with the plan, and no one noticed at first how pale the two new girls faces had gone.

"Not again," Jewl whispered. Lizi nodded in agreement.

"Well, come on," Professor Sprout called at them when she saw that they weren't moving. "You don't have all day."

"Professor?" Jewl called, not moving one inch. The woman sighed and headed for them.

"Did your last school not prepare you for this type of class?" she asked, not meaning to be unfriendly but brisk. However, it didn't help the girls.

"We already did this," Jewl told her, "and it did not go well."

Professor Sprout frowned, confused, and waited for more information. Jewl would have happily forgotten all about it and did not want to think about.

"The bubotuber's went a little nuts. Apparently they were allergic to us or something because all of the pus-" she couldn't remember what they were called, "-things exploded. We were in the hospital for several days. And Jewl is allergic to the pus." Lizi tried to speak quietly so none of the other students could hear her but that didn't work and several of the nearest students were passing the story along as fast as possible. She made a face at a few of them.

"Alright, though I've never heard of anyone being allergic to bubotuber pus before," Professor Sprout said dubiously.

"Neither had I," Jewl muttered. The Professor didn't hear her.

"You may sit out the lesson, seeing as you have a medical reason. However, Ms. Archer, please step up to the table. You'll have to face the pus sooner or later." The two girls stared at her retreating back before starting to giggle. Jewl stayed back, well away from the table, and Lizi reluctantly pulled on her gloves. The rest of the lesson passed quietly, but both girls were quite relieved to exit the greenhouse as fast as possible. Jewl didn't breath easy until they'd reached the stairs. Lizi headed up to the castle while Jewl waited for her next class by Hagrid's hut.

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While Lizi and Jewl were suffering in the greenhouse Emi and Ravan were waiting impatiently for the professor to start the class. Instead of writing on the chalkboard or taking roll Vector was examining her nails. They seemed to absorb all of her attention, meaning that she didn't notice her students until a Ravenclaw in the front row had a fake coughing attack. She looked up coolly and surveyed her class. Without any indication that anything was amiss she picked up the roll and started calling out names. The second name on it was Ravan and it made the teacher stop cold.

"Ah, our new student," she said calmly, with all the emotion of a snail. Ravan had no idea what she was supposed to say and stayed quiet. "I do hope that your education in the Americas hasn't totally destroyed your brain." Both girls nearly choked. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?" And with that she continued down the list. Emi showed up several names later and received only the briefest stare before the professor continued. Both girls were silently wondering how much of their record had been made available to the teachers.

The rest of the class consisted of taking notes and listening to the teacher drone on. To the complete surprise of Emi and Ravan the substance of the class was old news. They'd learned it the previous year. Emi soon zoned out, staring blankly at the board as it magically filled with notes. Ravan quietly pulled out the assignment and started working out some problems from the book. Neither girl was prepared for the teacher to suddenly attack them at ten minutes before the hour.

"Ms. Daniels," she barked out, causing Ravan to jump about ten feet, "would you please come up to the board and solve the problem?" She held out the piece of chalk imperiously, obviously expecting Ravan to panic.

She nearly did, but she rose anyway and took the chalk on her way to the board. Professor Vector crossed her arms and stood off to the side. It was clear that she was expecting the new girl to fail. Emi looked at the teacher for a moment, gritting her teeth, before looking at the problem.

Ravan studied the question, carefully taking in all of the information, before hesitantly putting the chalk on the bored. Slowly but surely she worked her way through the complex problem, never hitting a sticking point, finally ending with the correct answer and boxing it like she'd done at her old school. Setting the chalk down in the tray beneath the board she turned to Vector. Mirroring the professors arrogant expression of a few minutes ago she walked back to her seat and sank next to Emi gladly. There was no noise for a long moment.

"Ms. Henderson, would you be so kind as to answer the next question?" she asked finally, waving her wand at the board. A second, much harder-looking question appeared. Emi swallowed hard and stood. Math had never been her strong point although she was perfectly capable at it. She just disliked it. But she had too much pride to bow down to a professor like Vector so she would just give it her best shot.

Like Ravan she held the chalk without moving for several seconds as she studied the question. Then she smiled, she recognized this problem. She and her dad had worked on this a lot last year. Confident now she raised her arm and got to work.

It took her longer than it had Ravan but the result was the same. Walking to Vector Emi cocked a brow and handed her the chalk the same way she'd handed the stick to Ravan. Then she dusted her hands off and went back to her seat. The Professor's mouth thinned but she said nothing to either girl. She wrapped up the lesson with their homework, which Ravan was amused to note was what she'd been working on, and stalked out of the class. The two girls were the first ones out of the class, choosing to just grab their stuff instead of putting it in their bag.

They were forced to split up like Lizi and Jewl had been after class. Lizi was headed for Defense Against the Dark Arts and Jewl was scheduled for Care of Magical Creatures, Ravan had Divination and Emi was joining Jewl. They were all slightly traumatized or irritated by their previous class but they were still game. Taking deep breaths they headed out again.

**_A:N/_ Not much to say here, so REVIEW! nobody reviews. it's not that hard people. just give it a try. **


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N:_ After this update it will be awhile longer between updates, but we'll be working hard.**

So far the day wasn't going well. Their classes hadn't been quite a disaster but they'd gotten close. And now two of the girls were going to be on their own. Ravan had Divination and Lizi was on her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Mad-Eye Moody. Emi and Jewl had Care of Magical Creatures together so that wouldn't be that bad. At that moment all they were concerned with was surviving to lunch.

Ravan trudged up the stairs, wondering if they ever ended. When they finally did she was standing in an empty space with no classroom in sight. She was very relieved when some of her housemates arrived and showed her how to get into the classroom. She was surprised to see so few Ravenclaws there but she just shrugged and went with it. Her mother had wanted her to take this class, not Ravan. She looked around before choosing a booth.

'This is a classroom?' she wondered, looking around. She pulled out her textbook and her quill as she waited. When the teacher arrived and began to speak Ravan was in too much shock to pay any attention. By the time she had regained her senses Professor Trelawney was done telling some student how much her life would suck and was telling them to "consider the stars, the movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal." (Goblet of Fire, pg. 200) Ravan opened her book and did as she was told, and tried to pay attention to the ditzy teacher. But, like most students she drifted, thinking about the divination class back home. And how the teacher there, though male, was almost identical to the teacher here.

"Who are you?" Ravan jerked to find Trelawney standing before her, looking very confused. She bit back a smile and a sharp retort.

"I'm Ravan Daniels, Professor," she said politely. Trelawney still looked blank. "I transferred from America?" Still blank. "I'm new." Ravan finally went blunt and was unsure of what to do when the teacher still seemed lost.

"Nobody told me," she muttered. Ravan wondered what the sweet smell around the Professor was but didn't say anything. "Where did you say you were from?"

Ravan stared. "America. The United States of America."

"Well, dear, there was no need to be sarcastic. The mundane details of your existence are not of great importance when compared to the majesty of the beyond." Now Ravan's jaw was hanging. Mundane details? The Beyond? This teacher was beyond something alright, but Ravan wasn't sure what.

"I wasn't aware that my home was a mundane detail of my existence," she couldn't help but say. The Professor didn't answer and turned away. "Professor," Ravan called, "did you want something?"

"Oooh, what?" The Professor turned back, still unsettled. "Oh, I was going to ask you if I was right in assuming that you were born under the planet Venus, under the hot, blistering sun of summer? All the signs point to it." Ravan couldn't help but grin.

"No, Saturn. I'm a Capricorn. January." The class chuckled, but quietly so the Professor couldn't hear. Trelawney mumbled something and wandered off, eventually dismissing the class with some homework that had Ravan scrambling to get out of the class before she died of shock.

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While Ravan was dying of disbelief Lizi was sitting nervously in DADA, wondering what this "Mad-Eye" guy would be like. She didn't have long to be nervous, he came clumping in precisely on time.

"Now, I understand that your practical knowledge is woefully poor. You've had several teachers, though I see that Professor Lupin did his best to make up for this. Now, I believe, firmly, that without proper knowledge you might as well put a target on your back and wait for the blow. You must be prepared. CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" The whole class jumped as he bellowed at them.

"Now," he continued, leaning against his desk and studying them closely. Most of the Hufflepuffs were now shaking in their seats. "Who here knows what an Unforgivable Curse is?" Lizi frowned, what in the world was he talking about? Trying to be subtle she opened her book and flipped to the index.

One student tentively raised his arm, cringing as Moody called on him. "They're the curses that are forbidden to use. They get you sent to Azkaban." Lizi had no idea what Azkaban was but it sounded bad.

"Correct." The student sagged in his seat and closed his eyes. "Can anyone tell me the names of these curses?" A bit braver now two more students raised their hands.

"Yes?" Moody was looking at the girl now standing up but his fake eye was wandering around the class.

"The Imperious Curse," she said precisely, sitting down neatly in her seat. The teacher barely spared her a glance.

"Correct. And you?"

It was another boy who stood. "The Killing Curse."

"Correct again." The class began to feel better. So far so good. Except for Lizi, who still had no idea what they were talking about. The words sounded familiar but she'd never heard of "Unforgivable Curses". Still flipping through the book she didn't notice Mad-Eye focus on her.

"You, girl." Lizi froze and looked up slowly. He was staring at her. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for definitions," she said hesitantly. As she spoke his frown deepened.

"American, are ya?" he demanded. She nodded. "Must be one of those new students." She nodded again. "Never heard of the Unforgivable Curses, have you?" She shook her head. "That's because you people have to be so bloody politically correct you use different names for everything." She had nothing to say. He turned to another student.

"Last one," he demanded. The poor kid was shaking in his seat. "Come on, only one left. What is it?"

"Cru-cru-cruciatus?" he stammered. The former Auror nodded once, sharply, before turning to the board and writing the three curses on it.

"Imperious, Cruciatus, and Killing. All curses you'd best hope to never experience. But how, I ask you, are you to be prepared if you don't know what they look like? The Ministry thinks you're too delicate to hear about this but I say, and Dumbledor agrees, that you've got to know. YOU'VE GOT TO KNOW! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" The students were back to cringing in their seats. Lizi was beginning to get a bad feeling about this.

Mad-Eye turned away from the class and approached his table. When they could see what was going on he had a large spider sitting there. "Watch," he said, then turned to the spider and cried, "Imperio!" Lizi felt her jaw drop at the curse, then watched in shock as he made the spider perform various stunts around the room. She couldn't make her throat work by the time he was done, having made his point about absolute control of the spider. Then he brought it back to the table and pointed his wand at it again. Lizi knew what he was going to do but before she could do anything he'd said the second curse.

"Crucio!" The spider immediately began writhing in pain.

"Stop it!" she screamed, shooting to her feet. The rest of the class were staring in dismay at the spider and jumped sky high at her voice. "Stop it, this isn't right!" He didn't stop but he did look at her.

"Did you want something?" he asked calmly, ignoring the spider.

"Stop it! This is cruel! We believe you, just stop!" When he didn't seem interested in doing that she snatched her wand and summoned the spider. Mad-Eye broke off the spell and watched her with interest. It landed on her desk, shaking horrible still. She reduced it back to it's original size and gingerly slid it onto a piece of parchment. Without looking at the Professor she carried it to the window and let it out. Then she stormed back to her seat and stared at her quill.

"Didn't like that, did you?" Professor Moody said finally, still studying her carefully. She refused to answer. "I didn't much like that either. But you've got to know."

He stood up straight and paced in front of the class, clumping back and forth. "These curses aren't pretty, they aren't nice, and they aren't socially acceptable. But they exist, and there are people out there who would use them without much thought. If you don't know about it you could be caught off guard. It's my duty to teach you what you need, and if it isn't pretty then it isn't pretty."

"You could have shown us with video," Lizi snapped. "Projection, something other than torturing a creature right in front of us!"

"Video?" he asked, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, I know it's a muggle device but you could try to expand your horizons and use it. It would save you some spiders."

"I'm more worried about your lives than some spiders." Without looking at her again he turned. Quickly he summoned another spider, engorged it to the proper size, and pointed his wand at it.

"No!" Lizi cried, knowing what was coming.

"Avada Kedavra!" The green light of the curse shot out and the spider died, unmarked and looking for all the world like it was sleeping. Ignoring Lizi's outburst Moody turned to the board and began giving them information until the class was over. Lizi stared at his back for a long moment before picking up her quill and copying down the information. When class was over she stalked out, refusing to speak to anyone.

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Emi and Jewl had no idea what was going on in their friend's respective classes and approached CoMC equitably. They liked Hagrid and were willing to be open. They'd never had this class presented like this before and they were actually curious.

Before the class even started they were getting an education. Slytherins and Gryffindors did not mix together in class or out of it. They were getting some odd looks but they ignored them, instead listening curiously to the odd noises just out of sight.

Later, during the lesson, they could only stare at the Blast-End Skrewts in dismay. Emi loved animals and usually had no problem with any of them, except insects. But she just couldn't quite get her mind around these creatures. Jewl had taken one look at them had agreed with Seamus that this was just not fair. (First pus then this, Goblet of Fire, pg. 196) But they were getting through it until they heard Draco Malfoy, the boy who had pinned them and insulted them just the night before. He was making some sarcastic remark about how these creatures made just wonderful pets. They were both glad when a Gryffindor they thought was named Hermione shot him down. They smirked and went back to feeding their Skrewt.

It was a surprisingly uneventful class for them. Hagrid had stopped by quickly to speak to them. Apparently he had liked the brooms in the castle bit they'd done earlier and asked how they were doing, were their classes okay, etc. He'd been shocked when they told him that they'd never had a class like this. They'd always learned about magical creatures from books. They didn't tell him that this was because most of the magical creatures in America were extinct or tightly controlled away from human populations. They were grateful to be heading for the Great Hall for lunch.

To their great surprise they walked with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Gryffindors one and all, and they didn't say anything mean to Emi. Of course the conversation quickly turned into Hermione, Jewl and Emi, with the guys lagging slightly behind. They split once they reached the castle to find their friends but Emi and Jewl were happy to have met one person who didn't faint at the thought of Gryffindors and Slytherins being friends.

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By mutual agreement they met at the girls bathroom closest to the Great Hall. Lizi was still furious and in shock and she got there first. She just stood there, holding her book to her chest, waiting. The other three arrived at the same time, all wondering what was wrong with Lizi.

"What happened?" Ravan asked her. Lizi was seething and she told them what Moody had done through gritted teeth. They were shocked.

"He's allowed to do that in front of students?" Emi demanded, horrified. They all knew about the curses of course but they'd never demonstrated them in school. That was akin to demonstrating the effects of shooting someone in front of a class.

"Apparently," Lizi said, shrugging. Telling them about it had helped with the anger and she was finally relaxing a bit. The others were outraged.

"We have to talk to the Headmaster about it," Ravan said. They agreed, privately deciding to write to their parents as well.

"Okay, new subject before we all exploded," Jewl said suddenly, turning them into the Great Hall. "How was your class Ravan?" Ravan immediately broke out in a bemused grin.

"You won't believe me," she warned, then launched into a description.

They ended the day with making an appointment to see Dumbledor, then headed to bed. They had to be ready for the next day, assuming they survived the night.

**_A/N:_ REEVIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N:_ As promised, here's the next chappy (obviously) hope ya'll like it!**

Class was over. Emi and Jewl weren't sure why Snape found it so pleasurable to torment the Gryffindors but it was making things very uncomfortable in the classroom. Jewl was the only Gryffindor he left relatively alone and they had a suspicion that it was because she was sitting with Emi, near the Slytherin side of the room. Whatever the reason it was making both houses give them curious stares and they weren't in the mood to humor people with bad manners. As soon as the bell rang they packed and bolted, anxious to get out of the dungeon and away from Snape.

They had made it to the regular levels of the castle when an owl, which must have found an open window somewhere, flew in and dropped an envelope in Jewl's lap. She flipped it over and recognized her brother's handwriting.

"Go ahead," she told Emi absently. She had a suspicion she should read this by herself. She and her brother rarely agreed on anything. Emi was willing to wait but headed on for lunch at Jewl's insistence. Looking around hastily Jewl spotted an empty classroom and slipped in, prying open the envelope as she went. Without saying anything she quickly ran through the letter.

"What the heck!" she exclaimed, not believing what she was reading. Ron was hurrying by on his way to lunch, behind Harry and Hermione quite a bit. He stopped dead when he heard someone yell at him. He looked around, confused for a moment. He couldn't figure out where the voice was coming from.

"You stupid idiot!" He jerked around in a comical circle. Finally he saw the American girl standing just inside the classroom to his right. She was staring in his direction, glaring and looking furious. He opened his mouth to ask what the problem was but she started yelling again.

"How could you possibly-I can't believe you think that's amusing! What kind of a moron are you?" By now Ron was backing away. She looked so angry he had a wild idea of running away. "You stupid, idiotic, red-headed freak! How dare you!" Ron took one cautious step side-wase with his back against the wall. She continued, looking even more angry if that was possible.

"I swear, when they aren't looking I'm going to strangle you! I'm going to bash your head in and stomp you into the ground. How could you possibly-" At this point Ron gave in and bolted down the Hall towards his friends. He didn't hear the rest of her rant. "-be related to me! I'm going to-ooo, I'll come up with something!" With that, and never having seen Ron, she stormed off to find her friends. They'd understand. Emi especially and they might have some suggestions on how to pay her annoying re-headed brother back.

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By the time Jewl had made it to the Great Hall (she was so mad she took a wrong turn twice) Ron was sitting beside Hermione. He took one look at her, storming into the giant room, and crouched lower so she couldn't see him around the other girl. Hermione and Harry watched him for a second then went back to the subject at hand: the Tournament. Jewl walked right up to the Slytherin table and grabbed Emi's hand. The poor girl was so surprised at Jewl's behavior that she nearly fell to the ground. Barely getting her feet under her in time she stumbled after Jewl. Lizi and Ravan watched open mouthed for a second before snagging some food and following the pair out of the room.

By the time they got there Jewl had shoved the rumpled and badly damaged letter into Emi's hands and was waiting impatiently for her to finish reading it. It only took a few seconds for Emi to see why the other girl was so mad.

"What!" she exclaimed. Lizi and Ravan stopped where they stood, a safe distance, and asked what the problem was.

"My _brother_ sent me a letter about the Defense classes," Jewl said disgustedly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest and tapping her foot angrily.

"That's not good," Lizi whispered to Ravan. Ravan nodded and watched Jewl scowl. The girl was absolutely furious. They had only seen her this mad once in all the years that they had known her and it hadn't been an enjoyable experience. Emi finished the letter and handed it to Lizi and Ravan to see for themselves.

"I can't believe he said that!" she exclaimed, just as shocked as Jewl had been. "He had to know you would freak."

"I'm sure he did. I think he counted on it. I'm just glad I opened this in an empty classroom." Jewl was furious. Lizi and Ravan took another moment to finish the letter then looked up in sympathy.

"What in the world am I supposed to do about this?" Jewl asked.

"Well, you could always send this to your parents," Lizi suggested.

"Write back without mentioning the topic at all." Ravan shrugged. "Don't let him know he got to you."

"Ask Fred and George Weasley for a suggestion," Emi told her, leaning against the wall. "I've been hearing about them from my housemates. They're a terror against all students who get in their way. They're legends." Jewl looked interested in the idea and the three girls stood for a moment, considering it.

"That's a good idea," she said slowly, thinking. Emi shrugged, pretending to be casual.

"I know," she said breezily.

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During the next few days several things happened. First, Jewl did ask Fred and George for some tips on handling obnoxious younger brothers and got lots of good ideas. She had a grand time pinning them down at first because they were always in a corner plotting something and would leave before she could speak to them. Finally, with a list of possible retributions for her brother Jewl set off to meet her friends and pick out which one to use.

Emi had another run-in with Draco Malfoy. He thought it would be funny to make fun of muggleborns and their "impure" blood. She steadfastly ignored him until he said something about Lizi's unfortunate fate as a Mudblood. Out of nowhere one of the books laying around shot up and went right for his head. While he exclaimed loudly and bolted for the door like a poltergeist was after him Emi headed for her room to finish her homework in peace. In her head she was planning some way, any way, to get him to shut up. As soon as she had her essay done she pulled out her new computer to ask her stepbrothers for some advice.

The other two girls spent some time in their relative dorms working quietly on their homework. Lizi was doing much better in Hufflepuff than the other girls were doing in their houses because the students there were by nature more friendly and open. Ravan finished her essays as well, with long discussion over the finer points. The discussion was interesting but she still found the whole thing over done. She did hear about the Tournament for the first time. None of them had paid much attention to the talking before and Ravan was shocked to find out that it was being brought back. They'd really missed a lot of the beginning of term speech.

They had been in Hogwarts for two full weeks. In that time they had learned that the classes were different, the students the same, and the discrimination more blatant, especially in Slytherin. In all their time in America they'd never heard of purity of blood in terms of wizard families. They supposed that was because the population in America was largely imported from other countries and lots of people had started over when they reached the shore. But the girls had little experience with dealing in half-bloods, pure-bloods, muggleborns, and all the other parts of wizarding society.

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A few days after Jewl had gotten her list of possible revenge scenarios from the Weasley twins the girls had a meeting in the library to work on homework and discuss their week. Jewl was quiet in the first part of the meeting, not involved in the conversations and sometimes staring off in space for several minutes at a time. She had always been a quieter girl but this was a bit odder than normal so the others started asking what was wrong. She brushed it off for awhile but finally she was talking.

"Am I scary or something?" she asked. The other three stared blankly at her for a moment.

"Aaah, no, Jewl, you aren't scary," Lizi said confidently. "Why?" Jewl shrugged and looked down at her parchment.

"It's nothing really. I mean, I might be seeing things." She shrugged again, tracing patterns with her dry quill on the book cover. Emi reached out and stopped her hand.

"Being delusional is my job, not yours, and I'm not giving it to you. What's up?" she asked.

"You know Ron Weasley, the red-head Gryffindor in our year?" she asked. They nodded quickly as he was hard to miss. "Well, for the past several days every time I see him he's hiding behind Hermione Granger, or a piece of furniture, or another student. He won't look at me and no one seems to know why he's doing it. Hermione is about to get really mad with him. I was just wondering if I did something to him and didn't notice."

"I think if you terrorized someone that badly you would remember," Ravan assured her. "Maybe he's just really weird. I mean, he did grow up with the Weasley twins after all." They all nodded, having to agree that the Weasley twins would twist anyone off their rocker.

"It's just that he seems to be really afraid of me. Does he do that to any of you?" Jewl was extremely perplexed as the others shook their heads negatively. "Darn, I thought maybe he was afraid of Americans or something."

"Maybe it's not you," Emi suggested. "Maybe it's someone who just happens to be around you at those times. Anyone you walk with or eat with regularly? Besides us, I mean." Jewl thought about it and shook her head.

"I don't think so. But it's so odd, you'd think he'd tell his friends but they're just as shocked. The twins actually came up to me and asked what I did to him." At that moment the Trio walked into the library, obviously in search of a particular book. Ron seemed unwilling to stay; they could hear his whining across the room. Hermione was apparently giving him a lecture when he spotted their table, all of whom was watching him curiously. He immediately went red then white and hid behind Hermione. The brown-haired girl tried to push him away in irritation but he wouldn't budge and after a moment she sighed and headed for the stacks, Ron sticking like glue. Harry glanced between his friends and the Americans then went after Hermione. The girls turned slowly back to the group.

"See what I mean?" Jewl demanded. "What could I have possibly done to him?"

"Well," Ravan said, thinking, "We did come here with quite the reputation. I mean, no one _knows_ but still, kids don't get transferred to another country because of something trivial and they know that. Maybe he heard something about us that scares him more than the others."

"I thought the lawyers had that sealed," Lizi whispered. The other girls shrugged.

"How in the world were they supposed to get every bit of evidence of what happened? The government couldn't erase memories for crying out loud. And I heard that his father works in the government here. Maybe he told his son something." Emi finished talking and pulled back as the others stared. "What, you wouldn't believe what I hear in my dorm," she said defensively.

"The whole thing was hushed up, no one notified the government here. Besides, it's not illegal here anymore than it is in America." Ravan shook her head. "Thankfully." Emi looked around the table for a second then got to her feet.

"Come on," she said, dragging Ravan to her feet as well.

"Where are you going?" Jewl asked, indicating the homework left undone.

"To answer your question. I'm going to ask him what the problem is," Emi told her.

"Why am I going along?" Ravan gestured to the hand still clamped around her arm.

"What, am I going to do this myself?" Emi asked derisively. "Come on." With a sigh the girl followed her friend into the stacks in search of their prey.

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They found Ron and Hermione only after several minutes of searching. Ron was being unusually quiet so they couldn't follow his complaining about being in the library on a Saturday, and Harry was somewhere else. The two girls walked up behind the pair and tapped Ron on the shoulder. He looked at them and jumped about a mile in the air.

"Can we talk to you for a minute?" Emi asked, not waiting for an answer. "We just want to know why you think Jewl is scary." He gaped at them and didn't answer.

"We were wondering about that too," Hermione said to them. "But he isn't saying." He shook his head mutely in agreement. The two Americans frowned.

"We're just having a little trouble believing that _Jewl_ of all people has you scared spitless," Ravan told him, trying to be gentle. "Emi maybe, but Jewl?" It didn't work and he chose the best of his options: he bolted for his dorm. The three girls watched him go with bemused looks on their faces. Once he was gone Hermione turned back to the two girls.

"He only reacts like that when there are spiders involved usually. What did your friend do?" Emi shrugged.

"No idea. When did he start acting like this?" Hermione thought about it for a moment.

"Lunch, a few days ago." Ravan watched in confusion as Emi seemed to get an idea.

"Was that right after Potions?" she asked. Hermione nodded.

"Yes. He was a bit behind us because he was talking to someone. Only a few minutes behind."

"And he was freaked once he got to the Great Hall but not before?"

"Yeah. What's going on?" Hermione exchanged confused glances with Ravan as Emi seemed to choke on a laugh.

"Nothing. He may have gotten blasted with something meant for someone else." That was all she would say and then she dragged Ravan off, still chuckling to herself.

"What was that?" Harry asked as he walked up, the book they were looking for under his arm. Hermione shrugged.

"They wanted to know why Ron was acting so oddly around their friend," she told him slowly, thinking.

"Did he tell them?"

"No. But I think one of them figured it out because she was trying not to laugh. She wouldn't say what it was." Harry thought about that for a second then looked around.

"Where's Ron?"

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"What the heck is going on?" Ravan demanded as soon as they were concealed by the stacks. Her friend was trying very hard not to double over.

"He walked by the classroom Jewl was reading her letter in," she said, then really did double over with silent laughter. This was just too perfect for her. Ron just happened by when Jewl was absolutely furious with her brother and he thought she was mad at him. Just the memory of Ron ducking behind Hermione when he saw them in the library was enough to make Emi's day. It was wonderful.

"You mean, he thinks that-" Ravan asked, then stopped as Emi nodded, grinning foolishly. "Oh, ooohhh. This is going to be interesting." They headed back to their table pretending that they hadn't learned anything. Jewl was suspicious for a while but she eventually went back to her essay. As soon as possible Ravan pulled Lizi into the stacks to look for a book and told her what was going on. The three girls decided to keep this little tidbit of information to themselves for a while. What was the point of ruining some perfectly good entertainment after all?

**_A/N: _REVIEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know, it's been a long time since i updated, sorry. I don't really have an excuse except, high school. that's all i got. ok, well read away!**

Over the next few days the whole school became riveted to the drama between Jewl and Ron. No one could understand how the soft-spoken, quiet girl from Gryffindor had cowed Ron so completely. The Weasley twins had tried every method they could think of to get the information out of her, suitably impressed, but she wouldn't tell them. Since she didn't know that was understandable.

Emi, Ravan and Lizi, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on and were thoroughly enjoying themselves. They acknowledged that it probably wasn't the nicest thing they'd ever done but anyone that could live in the same dorm as Jewl and think she could really hurt someone like Ron apparently thought she would deserved a little lesson. Nothing anyone would or could say was going to pull the truth out of them. Ron would figure it out eventually, once he found his courage and talked to Jewl. Meanwhile, as the three girls thought, why ruin a perfectly good source of entertainment?

However, one source of irritation for them still existed. Three days after Jewl had responded to her brother's oh so insulting letter they got a response. All four of them. They were sitting at breakfast, minding their own business, when the mail arrived. Four owls they'd never seen came swooping down to each American and delivered a brilliant red letter. The handwriting was rather childish but still clear: Jewl's brother had responded. They looked at the letters curiously, never having seen one quite like it before. Almost immediately the whispers started around the hall.

"They all got Howler's," was the most polite phrasing of the information circulating the room. Emi looked up and frowned as her classmates stared in dismay. Only Malfoy had a smirk on his face.

"What's a Howler?" she asked, surprised when the letter began to smoke around the creases. She held it away from her gingerly with two fingers.

"You'll see," Pansy Parkinson said, stuffing her fingers into her ears. Emi thought she'd gone nuts when Lizi, at the instructions of her tablemates, and Ravan, completely on her own, opened theirs. Apparently the letters were linked with a spell because when one was opened the others popped open at the same time. All four girls screamed in shock and shot to their feet as the letters started screaming at them. Most of the Hall couldn't understand what was being said because there was more than one voice but the girls, despite their shock, knew exactly what it was.

For nearly a minute the voices raged in the Hall, sending many students under the table in a vain attempt to lower the volume. Then it was over and the letters disappeared into a small pile of ashes. The four girls just stared, too stunned to understand what had just happened. After another minute of absolute silence Emi said something very American and very nasty in a loud voice. The others were too stunned, even Jewl, to criticize her.

"_What_," Draco demanded into the silence, "was _that_?" Slowly the girls turned their heads to face him, still looking shocked.

"Nothing," Emi said quietly, "absolutely nothing." With that they all gathered their things, snagged one last muffin or pastry, and headed out the door to think about this. It would appear that Jewl's brother wasn't willing to let his stupidity die.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

No one and nothing would induce the four girls to explain the Howlers to their classmates. And oh did those Hogwarts students try. By the end of the day Emi was considering putting a sign on her forehead: "I have the right to remain silent." But she didn't know if the British knew about the Miranda rights in America and didn't feel like being pelted with more questions. All in all they were glad to get to bed that night.

By the next day they seemed to have bounced back from the shock of the Howlers. No one in the school, except maybe Hermione who kept giving them odd looks, had caught the stuff in the letter. Specifically about how the whole school was grateful that the girls had paved the way for new buildings. They could now dodge the questions with some form of calm and had the perfect subject to distract people with. They just asked about the Tournament.

They'd been at school for almost two weeks and were finally beginning to adjust. It was a very different school from the one they'd left in America (it was in one piece for one thing) but in many ways very similar. The students had the same basic goals: get an education while surviving the inter-house competition. The four Americans, while not approving of the house competition, could work with that.

As they were leaving the library one evening they happened to pass Ron in the halls. He was walking with his friends and his sister when he saw them. Without a moment's hesitation he slipped behind Hermione and stopped talking. His sister, who hadn't really seen this before, asked him what the problem was. Harry told her quickly that Ron was scared of one of the American girls. Since Jewl was the only girl looking at all unhappy with the situation Ginny had a good idea who Ron was afraid of.

"You must be joking," she said. "Ron, you picked one of the least confrontational girls in the _school_ to be afraid of! Come on." At this the other three girls erupted into hysterical laughter for a moment. Jewl looked at them and sighed before walking off towards the dorms. Emi and Ravan tried to follow her after a moment but Lizi lagged behind, trying to think of something to say to help Ron without giving it away. If he couldn't find his gumption then that was his problem. But she never got a chance to say anything to him.

"Are you still scared of the little bitty American Weasel-bee?" Malfoy drawled to the group. Lizi sobered up fast as the wands came out. She backed up slightly to stay out of the line of fire. Emi and Ravan paused by the corner of the hall and looked back, surprised by the outright hostility between the two groups.

"Go away Malfoy," Harry told him coldly.

"Oh, is the frightened little Weasel-bee going to attack me?" Draco looked at the image of Ron still standing behind Hermione (only because there wasn't enough time between Jewl's leaving and Draco's arrival for him to move) and sneered. "You'll have to stop hiding behind your girlfriend's skirts."

"Maybe we should turn you into a little ferret, huh Malfoy?" Hermione asked. Emi and Ravan hadn't heard about that yet and didn't get it but Lizi had seen it and grinned at the memory. Unlucky for her Draco noticed her as she smiled and he didn't like it.

"Something funny Mudblood?" he asked, shifting his stance to face her. Lizi's smile disappeared quickly and she pulled back slightly.

"Yes," she said defiantly, despite her dislike at the name. She didn't notice the four other students watch in confusion as Draco turned away from his favorite targets. "I think you should ask Moody to let you stay as a ferret. You'd look better."

"Really? Maybe I should show you what I think is funny," he threatened, pulling out his wand. He wasn't fast enough, though, to beat Emi and Ravan. They both called out spells at the same time and Draco went stiff under the full-body bind and he was lifted into the air by his ankles. Crabbe and Goyle both stared in shock and didn't know what to do.

"Lizi, come on, we have to catch Jewl before she hides in her room," Emi called. Still staring in shock at the upside-down Slytherin Lizi silently followed them. When their backs were turned Crabbe and Goyle pulled their wands to get them. With what no one was sure since they'd barely pulled off a decent spell in their entire three years at Hogwarts. But Ginny took the opportunity and used her infamous Bat-Boget hex on them. The last thing the Americans heard was their yells.

They walked in silence to the Gryffindor tower, thinking about what had just happened. Emi especially was seething.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

It took Emi most of the night to decide what to do and how exactly to do it. Her step-brothers had sent her a list of possible paybacks for Draco a few days ago and she was carefully planning and combining in a way that would have made Salazar Slytherin proud. By the next morning she had only a few things to do: inform the others of her plot, convince Fred and George Weasley to not only leave Malfoy alone but to help them with supplies, clarify a few things from the plan with her brothers, and time it.

Two days later Emi was smugly sitting in her class with Malfoy across the way. He had no idea what was coming his way. While they were sitting so quietly in class the other three girls worked in shifts to get everything done. They'd heard the password from some first years so they could claim without lying that Emi hadn't told them the password. Then they carefully went through all of Malfoy's belongings (clothes, personal hygienic products, etc.) and worked their magic.

No one outside of the four of them and the Weasley twins had any idea that something was up.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

The next morning all four girls had gotten to the Great Hall early, Lizi and Ravan armed with Muggle disposable cameras disguised as their phones. They were sedately eating their food when Malfoy walked in. For several moments nothing happened and the Weasley twins wondered if they'd trusted the wrong people. Lizi and Ravan got their cameras ready.

Emi glanced up at him and promptly choked on her juice. As she coughed and laughed together her tablemates looked on in concern. She gestured to Malfoy and the Slytherin's joined the rest of the Great Hall in shock.

He was pink. From head to toe he was pink. His hair, his clothes, his bag, even parts of his skin. And not just any pink either. There was candy pink, what the Americans identified as Barbie pink, deep rose pink, and neon pink, all layered through his clothes and hair. He looked around in confusion before catching a glimpse of his arm. He held out his arms and then jerked around comically to see if it really was all over him. Emi, finally over her coughing fit for the most part, helpfully held up a silver platter for him to use as a mirror. He stared in astonishment for a second before yelling a horrible high-pitched word not repeatable in this story.

"You!" he continued, diving over the table for Emi. She calmly got to her feet and held the platter in front of her. With a "bong" he hit the platter and slumped to the table, stunned. The teachers were still frozen where they had been when Draco's appearance had morphed into pink craziness and didn't move even when their student seemed unconscious.

The entire Great Hall remained silent for another moment, then Fred and George stood up from the Gryffindor table and began to applaud loudly. The rest of their table followed suit immediately and the other two tables joined them after a moment. During the tumult Lizi and Ravan slipped their cameras into their pockets and stood to join their housemates. It was a sight to see, they had to admit. They'd done a grand job.

Snape was the first teacher to unfreeze, beating even McGonagall to Malfoy. With an expression on his face that no one, not even Harry, had ever seen before he pulled Malfoy to his feet. Without a word he tried to reverse the charm. Immediately little specs of pink floated from his hair and formed words over Draco's head.

"_Wears off in a week. Doesn't come out any other way. Think next time before you call someone a nasty name._" The words floated there for almost a minute before disappearing into the air. No one said anything but the rest of the school seemed to find this extremely amusing. Most of the school had been on the receiving end of some of Malfoy's little digs at one point or another.

"Henderson!" he thundered, glaring malevolently at her. "Come here." Emi considered for a moment before setting the platter on the table and walking around it to Snape. She carefully stayed out of grabbing range of both the irate professor and the humiliated student. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do this," she denied, and technically she was telling the truth. She had been very careful to have an alibi over the last few days and she hadn't done any of the spells or charms, or potions. They knew she'd be the first subject so she had to be able to tell the truth. "I didn't do the spells or charms or whatever it was. But I do think it is a job well done."

"Henderson, do you know what the penalty would be for the student or students who did this?" he asked dangerously quiet. She nodded.

"Yes. Immediate expulsion at the worst or detention for the rest of their school life, not to mention a nasty notation on their record."

"If the student or students belong to my House I can guarentee that the result will be immediate and irreversible expulsion." Emi raised an eyebrow, wondering if the Professor realized that he'd just threatened a student. On her part Emi was still so furious with Malfoy that she had some kind of brazen courage keeping her going.

"Given the number of students in this school who have been called nasty names I'd say you have a large number of subjects on your hands," she said just as quietly as Snape could manage to hear.

"How many of them could have managed to do this?" he asked, taking a step towards her. She took a simultaneous step back.

"Professor?" McGonagall asked as she stepped forward. "Despite the, er, record of Ms. Henderson, I don't think you have enough evidence to publicly accuse her." She said the last part quietly to remind Snape of the procedures in place to deal with something like this. "Perhaps," she said, returning to her normal volume, "you should take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing to deal with the cut on his forehead." Snape choked down whatever he was going to say and stormed off with Draco in tow. Poor Draco still looked a bit bedeviled from the blow to the head. Emi turned to face McGonagall, paling a bit at the woman's expression. Lizi, Ravan and Jewl hurried over to back her up.

**ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Draco Malfoy wasn't seen for the rest of the day as various teachers tried everything they could think of to remove the charms, but to no avail. He was just as pink the next day as he had been. The teachers refused to let him out of class so he had to walk among the student body and endure the comments and snickers as best he could. It was a new experience for him, one they thought might be good for him. Only Snape was solidly on his side for reasons of his own.

Later that day he ran into the four girls. They stood in front of him, serious looking. Emi looked at him up and down and refused to feel any sympathy for him.

"Now you know how it feels," she told him. He glared at her, furious.

"What?" he demanded, itching for a fight.

"To be unable to fight back against people," Ravan told him. "Think about this the next time you want to call someone a Mudblood." Then they walked off, careful to watch their backs for any retaliatory spells from him.

**A/N: i hope to have the next chapter up within a week or two. keep your fingers crossed and review pleeeeeease!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I know it has been forever since i updated, but my sister had reeeeeally bad writers block then got sick.i blame school. mwuhahahahahahahaha...**

**Sister: What my sister failed to mention is that, since school doesn't start for another little while and I will have nothing to do for a month and a half, I hope to get lots of chapters done soon. Cross my fingers or something like that. And my sister is a dip, just thought I 'd mention that.**

**A/N: Anywho, enjoy!**

* * *

The whole teaching staff watched the girls very carefully over the next few days. Each got pinned by their respective Heads for over an hour about the prank but they managed to come out of it intact. The only teacher who remained convinced of their guilt was Snape and he was refusing to let it go. His class was torture, for all of them. He made it a point to fail every task they did, every potion they attempted. When the prank had worn off and Draco was returned to normal they thought that his fury would subside a little, but no such luck. He kept them in his sights, even to the exclusion of Harry.

He frequently kept them after class to clean up other peoples messes, lecturing on and on while they waved their wands. And, though they didn't know it, he was digging into their past to find out exactly why they were expelled.

The Slytherins were solidly on Draco's side and they were making Emi miserable. Several of them thought Draco had gotten what he deserved but they were too scared of him to say anything. Conversely, members of the other houses were much more welcoming of her than they ever had and they repeatedly spoke up in her defense when her house mates gave her lip.

Then Lucius Malfoy paid the school a visit. He was furious that this had been done to his son, but even more furious that no one had paid. Dumbledor had tried to calm him down but Snape had told him what he knew and Malfoy, Sr. was up in arms. He stormed off to the Great Hall to confront the girls.

He hesitated in the doorway long enough for Snape to indicate from the teacher's table which girls he suspected. Lizi and Ravan were the only ones there, hanging out at the Hufflepuff table. They glanced up as the table went silent. Both instinctively stood in response to the man's expression.

"What made you think you could get away with assaulting my son?" he demanded in his cool trademark drawl. They looked at him in dismay. Since when was a small prank assault? Emi and Jewl walked into the room and stopped to watch. They had no idea who the man was.

"I beg your pardon?" Ravan asked when he paused, obviously waiting for a response.

"Do you know who I am?" he hissed. They shook their heads. For the briefest moment he looked taken aback but he recovered quickly. "I am Lucius Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you," Lizi said, holding out her hand. He stared at them like they'd grown two heads. Behind them several students snickered at him.

"I could have you thrown out of school in the blink of the eye. You would be back on your way to America before your parents even found out." Both girls stepped back away from his fury. What the hell was wrong with the man?

"You can't threaten students, Mr. Malfoy," Emi called from behind. "You aren't a staff member or on the board of governors. All you can do is file a protest over a prank that you can't prove we did." Malfoy, Sr. turned to look at her, catching a nod from Snape that confirmed these were the other girls. He sneered, insulted by the upstart girl's manners as well as her accent.

"You are not from around here so maybe you don't realize the influence my family has in this country. Watch what you say little girl." Emi arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms; the other three knew that stance, it was her stubborn stance.

"I've never watched one word that came out of my mouth in my life. I certainly am not going to start with you." Emi didn't much care what he thought of her.

"That's true, you haven't. I never thought about that," Jewl commented thoughtfully. "Have you ever seen her censor anything out of her mouth?" She looked around Malfoy, Sr. to the other two girls. They both shook their heads.

"Why don't you ever censor?" Jewl asked her friend, faking curiosity and putting her hands on her hips.

Emi shrugged and glanced over at Jewl. "I don't see a reason to. It's so much easier to irritate people with the truth than a lie you have to remember."

"Oh. That sounds logical."

Malfoy, Sr. was turning red in the face, glaring at them for all it was worth. "Do you realize what I could do to you?" he demanded. They all looked at him like they had just seen him, absorbed as they had been in the question of why Emi always said what she thought to jerks.

"Like what?" Ravan asked sweetly, looking for all the world like an innocent, wide-eyed girl. Emi and Jewl hastily coughed to disguise a laugh.

"I could have you expelled," he said, feeling a bit at a loss. Lizi yawned.

"Been there, done that," she said lazily.

"I see that," Snape said silkily, walked up with his typical smirk on his face. All four girls zeroed in on the folders in his hand. Uh-oh. "Do you know what these are?"

They all fought to keep their jaws from dropping. How had he gotten them?

"Do you have any concept of lawsuit?" Emi finally sputtered. Malfoy, Sr. turned to his friend and raised a manicured eyebrow.

"Is that something I should see, Severus?" he asked genially, glorying in the upper hand.

Snape smirked. Oh this felt good, he thought. "This would be their school records from America. Apparently these girls did quite a bit of damage there." He drew out the last two words just for the pleasure of it. Lizi shook her head.

"You can't," she whispered. The rest of the school leaned in to catch every word while the girls went pale.

"Would you care to wager on it?" Snape asked as he slowly opened the top folder. On the tab it said "Ravan Daniels." They held their breath.

The whole school seemed to be holding it's breath as Snape opened the file. What would the files say? It must have been really bad since none of them would say anything. Snape was staring at the file, a horrible expression on his face. All four girls held their breath.

"What is this?" he hissed, holding up a sheaf of papers. Most of it was blacked out with marker. An occasional word here and there could be seen, and the few visible words spelled out, "None of your business." The girls gasped a relieved breath and then laughed. They saw the blacking. Malfoy, Sr. snatched the paper away from Snape and glared at it.

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, waving it at the girls'. They weren't impressed. Silently they watched Snape snap open the other files. They all were blacked out and held variations of the same message. The American school had no intention of telling Professor Snape anything. Both men glared at the girls malevolently. They shrugged although Lizi, Ravan, and Jewl were all entirely uncomfortable with the situation. Emi was too, but she was also furious with the Professor for digging into their past.

"I think it means that our old school understands the concept of sealing files. Your interest is not appreciated when it violates the law."

"Why would school records violate law?" he asked silkily. She winced inwardly. Oops.

"How should I know, I'm just fifteen. It was the school's idea. Now, if that is all, could we go eat lunch? We have class soon." With that Emi tried to walk by the two men. She got a wand in the face from Malfoy, Sr. As she froze in surprise the three other girls pulled their wands, as did the teachers in the room.

"Lucius, that might not be…" Snape faded out as the other man gave him a venomous glare.

His blond head whipped around to pin Emi, who was not moving when the wand was inches from her neck. "I want to know what you did to my son," he demanded.

"She didn't do anything you idiot," Ravan told him. "The teachers investigated and found that she had an alibis for the time. No one has been accused of the prank on your son."

"Besides, given the way your son acts around here it could be anyone in the school," Lizi added.

Mr. Malfoy paused and looked at Lizi. Apparently his son had filled him in on the girl's parentage. His lip curled in disgust. "The way my son acts around here?" he asked softly, dangerously.

"He's a bully," Jewl said succinctly. "He uses the labels of 'mud blood' and other like terms to insult the people he goes to school with. You've taught your son to be a lousy human being." In the backs of their minds the girls were slightly impressed with their bravado. This was the type of situation they hated.

The rest of the school held their breath again. The girls had just crossed some sort of invisible line in the sand. Mr. Malfoy looked ready to have a stroke.

"Perhaps someone would care to fill me in on what is going on?" Dumbledor asked. No one had noticed his arrival. Emi was still standing with a wand at her throat and didn't say anything. "And why do you have a wand pointed at my student Lucius?"

"Mr. Malfoy is under the impression that we played a prank on his son and that we should be punished for it. Apparently he wants to inflict the punishment himself." Ravan shrugged and kept her wand up. Lizi spoke up next.

"Professor Snape requested our school records from America and is a bit annoyed that the school abided by it's own decision to seal the records. The files are all blacked out. That seems to be a personal insult to this Mr. Malfoy here and he is taking it as such."

"And Emi just happened to be closest to him when he lost his temper. She just wanted lunch," Jewl added. All three girls kept their eyes on the wand pointed at their friend. Emi still hadn't moved and she was getting stiff. Not to mention annoyed.

"Lucius, would you please lower your wand? Threatening a student is rather unseemly for you I should think?" Dumbledor spoke as calmly as always but Lucius got the point and forced his wand down. Emi shot him a dirty look and stayed where she was while rubbing her neck. Malfoy was going to have to step back to get away from her. "Thank you so much. Now, would you both please follow me to my office? I believe we have things to discuss. After you." Without giving them time to answer Dumbledor gestured to the hall and waited for them. Seeing no other alternative Malfoy and Snape walked out of the room. With one last glance at his new students Dumbledor followed them.

The door was empty and the Great Hall was staring at the four girls. They were looking at each other.

"Are you okay?" Lizi asked quietly. Emi nodded.

"Do you think our parents will hear about this?" she asked. The other girls paled slightly but nodded. She sighed. "They're going to kill me." Again the other girls nodded. "Damn."

**

* * *

**

The confrontation was the talk of the school for days. Emi, Jewl, Lizi and Ravan all received apologies from Dumbledor that this event was allowed to happen. Malfoy, Junior and Senior, refused to acknowledge that they existed. Dumbledor told them that until they received an apology from Mr. Malfoy he was barred from the school. That was the least of their worries, though. First off, the arrival of the blackened out school records had restarted the talk about what the four girls had done at their school. And second, their parent's had heard all about the incident.

Dumbledor, luckily, did not possess a telephone so he was spared the immediate reaction of the parents but he received several very angry letters. He did his best to reassure them that all four girls were in perfect health and in no way harmed by Mr. Malfoy's lack of manners. The parents, after receiving word from their daughters that confirmed the Headmaster's story, were obliged to reluctantly accept that. But they did make it very clear that the consequences for any further incidents would be dire.

The gossip and rumors about what the girls' could have done at their old school that would have warranted the blackening out of their records kept everyone occupied for a few weeks, then it was overshadowed by another event. It was time for the Triwizard Competition to officially begin and they were waiting for the arrival of the visiting schools. The four girls were all separated at their respective tables during the visit but as soon as the meal was over they all met in their spot, a classroom in one of the towers that no one used anymore. They were uncomfortable with the competition and the new students around the school but they were also grateful for the distraction. With all the excitement Hogwarts had forgotten about them and was leaving them more or less alone, in the questioning department that is.

"So, what do you know about the Tournament?" Jewl asked. Lizi shrugged, her parent's weren't really a part of the magical world so there was a lot of history that she didn't know about. Jewl was almost as lost on the subject as her family had few connections to England and, up to now, had been content to keep it that way.

"I e-mailed my sister and asked if she'd heard of it," Emi told them, tapping her laptop in her bag. "And, just my luck, she's covering England in her history class so I got all sorts of details. It's a really old tradition that was suspended a while ago because lots of champions weren't surviving the tasks. Her professor is practically salivating over the new competition. Ellie asked him about it and she said his reaction was not pretty. The tasks are different every time but they are all designed to test a sorcerers abilities."

"If you ask me this is just a bad idea all around," Ravan added. "How is this supposed to help relations between schools. They're competing against each other for crying out loud."

"Who knows." The other girls shrugged at the question. "And who cares? They aren't asking about you know what from you know where any more are they?" Lizi asked. They had to chuckle. In another minute dinner was going to start and they were going to have to greet the schools. Until then they were going to hide as long as possible.

"Did Ellie mention anything about the schools that are coming to compete?" Jewl asked. Her friend frowned and shrugged.

"Apparently, keeping school secrets is something they are both good at. She said that since the schools have been overshadowed by Hogwarts for so long they tend to be more devious than most. Her words, not mine. Durmstrang is from somewhere in the north of Europe, most likely in the eastern part. And Beauxbatons is, well, French." All four girls made a sour face. There had been a French exchange student at their old school and no one had liked her much, especially these four girls. "Ellie seemed to think I was going to enjoy meeting these kids so I'm a little worried."

"Oh, joy," Jewl groaned. "Now I'm really worried."

"See, that's what I said and she just laughed at me." Ravan looked at her.

"If you e-mailed her how could you tell she was laughing?" she asked reasonably. Emi gave her a dry look.

"Because we were instant messaging by then and her roommate asked what was so funny. Apparently Ellie was on the ground laughing her butt off. And when I told her the roommate started laughing too." Emi made a face.

"About which school?" Lizi wanted to know.

"She wouldn't say but I'm thinking Beauxbatons. I could almost hear her laughing every time I mentioned them."

"Oh, yeah, this is going to be interesting." All four girls agreed with the assessment.

Later they sat watching at the tables as first Beauxbatons and then Durmstrang was introduced. They had barely kept themselves from falling apart with hysterics as the Beauxbatons girls paraded in. They knew they couldn't look at each other or they would lose it so they studiously stared at some imaginary point over the teachers heads.

Then Durmstrang came in and the hysterics were forgotten. They stared at the display in appreciation and Emi's eyes were glittering when the last final burst of flames came out of the wand to create a design. They knew which school they preferred.

The teacher's look a bit shaky after the impacting display of Durmstrang but the girls were smiling. Dumbledore went through his speech, they saw the rather impressive Goblet of Fire and the Triwizard Cup and heard the moaning and groaning about the age limit. Then they were dismissed and they could head back to the empty classroom. Emi had brought her computer and was instant messaging her sister to get some more info. And to enjoy the entertaining fun of waking her up. She just loved waking her sister up on the one day of the week she got to sleep late.

"Does she know anything about what the first task might be?" Ravan asked. Emi grinned.

"I don't know, she's trying to remember how to type. Right now all I'm getting is gibberish." The other girls snickered.

Several minutes later Emi straightened up and rubbed her hands. "Alright, she's awake. I think she must have found the coffee or something. Here we go. Durmstrang is headed by a suspected Death Eater, Madame Maxine is believed to be part giant, no surprise there, and the Triwizard Tournament is being boycotted by the United States in protest over the danger of the tasks and the involvement of students."

"Death Eater? What's that?" Jewl asked.

"Giant? That answers a few questions." Lizi shrugged and went back to her essay.

"Has anyone heard anything about any US involvement at any time in this Tournament? Why would their boycott be noticed?" Ravan wondered. Emi just shrugged and ignored her friends.

"Let's see, the Death Eater from the north apparently, according to our beloved journalist students at the school, gave up some names about some other Death Eaters. I'll ask what that is when she's done here. Um, apparently the government is using the Tournament to demonstrate that they have recovered from the war with some joker named Voldemort. Haven't heard of him before."

"Maybe that's what You-Know-Who means," Jewl suggested.

"Maybe. Oh, she's done. Okay, what is a Death Eater, who is Voldemort and what war is she talking about? And what is the deal with Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Oh, good one," Ravan and Lizi murmured. They waited but Ellie didn't answer. After a moment someone else was typing, asking why Ellie was banging her head on the wall. They burst out laughing.

"It's not my fault she keeps blabbing about history and stuff while I'm not listening. Come on." Then Emi typed that and chuckled as her sister answered, as briefly as possible as requested.

" 'Voldemort is a wizard of murky origins who started creating followers, the Death Eaters, in a bid to take over England. Harry Potter is called the Boy-Who-Lived because he somehow survived the killing curse and brought down Voldemort's powers when he was a year old. His parents were killed that night and England was saved. A lot of Death Eaters seem to have escaped detection and at the World Cup of Quidditch they put on a display, and got away with it. Dad said that Voldemort's sign was seen in the sky there, whatever that may be, and it has the whole community here nervous. Therefore this Tournament is even more important.' She says that her professor is almost in tears that he isn't here to document the whole thing and she is refraining from telling him that we are here because he may have a nervous breakdown."

They all snickered again at Ellie's expense. "Anything else?" Lizi asked.

"Yeah, she said enjoy the show, don't forget the updates, and if I wake her up again she's coming to kill me." Emi wrote something rude back, said goodbye, and leaned back against the wall. "I always enjoy doing that to her."

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**A/N: So? how was it? well what are you waiting for, review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: we're sorry that this took so long to get up, there were a lot of technical difficulties but at least we made it! there is a new chapter in the works so it shouldnt take that long for it to be posted cuz she is stuck with me at home for another whole week and ive got nothin else to do. lol anywho enjoy! plz r&r**

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Despite the new information that Ellie had given them the girls were still a little murky on the necessity of the Tournament. Nevertheless, a month later, they were in the stands with everyone else for that fateful day when the champions faced their first challenge. The crowds were impressive, especially for small-town girls and they were nearly overwhelmed by the number of people in the stands. Even the Minister of Magic (a position most Americans really knew very little about) was there in all his importance. 

The girls were hugely impressed with the dragons once they were introduced. Especially Jewl. She seemed to have a thing about dragons and consequently her friends had to hold her to her seat until she calmed down. At the instruction of their teachers all students were early to ensure that they got good seats and the four girls were no exception. They were among the first groups to find some seats and had a lot of fun watching the non-Hogwarts student's milling around in a confused daze.

About fifteen minutes before the Tournament challenge was scheduled to start Emi was surprised by a tap on her shoulder. Most of the students had little to do with them when they were in a group. Turning her head and fully expecting to see some first year too confused to know what he or she was doing, she was absolutely surprised to see her sister standing behind her with a smirk on her face.

"Ellie!" she exclaimed, clambering over the bench seat to give her sister a hug. The other girl was just as excited to see her and they stood for several seconds like that.

"Hello, miss me much?" she asked once Emi had finally let go. The younger girl smacked her sister in the arm.

"No, not at all. What are you doing here?" The last time they had talked Ellie had been in the US in college. No one had mentioned anything about any trip.

Ellie frowned slightly and looked across the arena. "Well, my professor managed to convince the powers-that-be that his class absolutely had to see this historical event in the making or we would not deserve the title of college graduate. So he dragged us half-way around the world and has spent the entire last week drooling over this trip. That's him, over there." She nodded at a specific man across the way. All four girls looked and found a smallish, thin man with nervous hands who looked like he was about to wet his pants. Emi just shook her head.

"You history people. You're just not right in the head," she joked. Ellie mock glared at her.

"Do not lump me in with that nincompoop. He's unbelievably wonky, more so than our entire family." They all blanched.

"That bad huh?" Ravan asked.

"Oh, don't ask." Ellie shuddered at the thought. Then she slung an arm around Emi's shoulders and raised an eyebrow. "So, whatcha been up too?" she asked, mimicking a Southern twang just to make her sister groan.

"Oh, not much. Pissing people off, confusing others, planning wonderful pranks we can't do. The usual."

"Mm-hmm. I see I'll just have to ask your teachers."

"How long are you here for?" Lizi asked. Ellie shrugged.

"Til about seven tonight. We're heading back in shifts using something called a port key. They have some odd ways of traveling here. But your parents gave me some money before I left and told me to take you out to eat somewhere so I can assure them you aren't starving to death."

"I don't suppose you know of any place nearby with some American style food do you?" Jewl asked, looking forlorn. Ellie shook her head.

"No. But I brought you some candy bars. Hope that helps."

While the five girls were catching up and chatting another pair came up to them. Lizi and Jewl noticed them first and were shocked to see Mr. Malfoy and his son standing in front of them.

"Emi," one of them hissed, nodding insistently in the two males direction. The other three looked over and were equally surprised, although since Ellie didn't know them she was more surprised by how furious the older man looked.

"Can we help you?" Emi asked, slipping her hand into the pocket that held her wand. The other girls did the same without noticing. Mr. Malfoy did not answer immediately but took his time glancing from student to student before studying the newcomer. Ellie didn't say anything but met his eye calmly.

"I smelled quite the stench and wondered what it was. You wouldn't happen to be hiding any more mudbloods around you would you? Perhaps your new friend?" Ellie silently mouthed "mudbloods" but made no sound. Emi gritted her teeth.

"Sorry, I think the stench is from your lack of bathing. It catches up to you eventually," she said sweetly. Ellie shot her a look in amazement but the others just enjoyed the shot.

"Someday you're going to learn to be respectful of your betters," he hissed. Draco stood behind him slightly and smirked in a perfect image of his father.

"I highly doubt that," Ellie snorted. "Not in her personality make-up." He gave her a cold look.

"And who are you?" he practically whispered. Emi glanced uneasily between the man and her sister.

"Mr. Malfoy, this is my sister, Ellie Henderson. Ellie, this is Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco. I mentioned them to you, I think, in the e-mails."

It was immediately apparent to Mr. Malfoy that, despite having no idea what e-mails were, she had indeed heard of him. Her warm eyes had cooled to about 10 degrees Kelvin and she was now standing slightly in front of the girls. "Gee, how wonderful to meet you. I've heard a lot about you from my parents." She held her hand out to shake with Mr. Malfoy, who took it uncertainly. Emi just looked ready to burst out laughing. Before anything else could be said a young man about Ellie's age joined them. The four Hogwarts girls didn't know him but Ellie seemed glad to see him even through her reaction to the Malfoy's.

"Hey Ellie, could you hide the glasses?" was his opening remark, slipping an old-fashioned pair into her hand. She dumped them into her pocket and turned to smile sweetly at Malfoy, Sr.

"Mr. Malfoy, this is my friend Devin Delaney. Devin, this is Mr. Lucius Malfoy and his son Draco." Ellie's smile was as polite as anything but the Americans knew her too well and wondered what was going on. The two men nodded at each other carefully. Given Devin's Muggle-style clothing Malfoy had a feeling that he was being insulted.

"Ellie?" Emi hinted, nodding to the center of the stadium. They were apparently getting ready to start.

"Oh, mind if we sit with you?" she asked her sister. Emi shrugged as if it was a great sacrifice but she would do it. The Malfoy's stood, somewhat forgotten, when they got an eyeful. Of someone else but that was okay.

Ellie was moving to sit on the bench seats when she glanced around and spotted her professor. He had been searching for the glasses that she had hidden in her pocket for several minutes (instead of bothering important British officials, which was the point) and had now gotten to looking _inside_ his pants. In front of everyone. His students were staring in horror. Desperately she yanked them out and sent them whizzing across the stadium to one of her classmates, who hurriedly shoved them into the professor's hands. They all breathed easy when the man's wife showed up to manage him.

In between matches Ellie asked Emi what had gotten Mr. Malfoy's underwear in a knot and her sister quietly filled her in, explaining it in a way that did not actually claim responsibility for it. The older girl stared at her for a long moment, speechless, then burst out laughing until her side hurt.

"Well, Emi," she said when she had her breath back, "at least you aren't predictable." Emi shrugged.

"He deserved it." No one other than her sister heard her over the noise.

Much later, after the event, Devin and Ellie were escorting the four girls to Hogsmead to buy them candy or whatever with the money from their parents. Dumbledor had kindly invited all American college students to eat at the school once he found out that they were there. The girls were ecstatic as they were out of candy in a bad way and the two college students were thrilled to get away from their professor, who had become more embarrassing as the day wore on.

"So, Ellie," Emi asked as they hit a deserted stretch of road, "what did you think of Malfoy?"

"Arrogant SOB. But I thought he was banned from the school for threatening a student?" Emi suddenly found the ground very interesting to look at. Ellie just chuckled.

"Okay, got it." Ellie didn't look all that surprised and was kind enough not to dwell on it. "How are things going with your housemates?" she asked the other girls. She had always wondered how American girls would blend into conservative Hogwarts.

"Alright," Jewl said, shrugging. The others snickered, prompting Ellie to ask what was so funny.

"One of the boys in her dorm is scared witless of her," Lizi told her, sounding like she was trying not to laugh hysterically. Ellie and Devin both raised eyebrows as Jewl turned a bright red.

"I don't know what I did to him," she moaned. The others girls laughed harder.

"What does he do, run away from you?" Ellie asked. Emi shook her head.

"He hides behind his friends and won't come out until she's gone. He only runs away if she gets too close." Emi grinned.

"Why is he scared of her?" Devin asked the other girls. They shrugged, grinning madly.

"He won't say, not even to his close friends." That made the girls laugh harder. Jewl was very relieved when they reached Hogsmead and they could start giving the two older kids a tour. Zonko's was cool but Ellie flatly refused to let the girls buy anything. When Emi complained, reminding her sister of the Malfoy factor in her life Ellie told her to get whatever she needed from somewhere less traceable, like their brothers. The girls paused to consider, then stopped complaining as they realized the wisdom of that. Devin just watched, horribly confused but not worried about it, and laughed at Emi's intrusive questions about the relationship between him and her sister.

That evening at dinner Ellie and her fellow American students got a first-hand look at what it was like to live at Hogwarts. The castle intimidated them, the students stared at them, and the seating confused them. But they managed, especially after Dumbledor politely invited them to sit wherever they wished and listened kindly to the extremely nervous and curious professor from the American college at his side.

The four girls decided that, since lots of extra space had been arranged for the guests, no one would care if they sat together and since Devin was not even close to being a pureblood and he wasn't ashamed of the fact it was a safer bet to sit somewhere other than the Slytherin table. Eventually they ended up at the Gryffindor table, much to Jewl's housemates surprise. A Slytherin was sitting at the Gryffindor table for the first time in who know's how many years. Ellie and Devin were oblivious to the undercurrents and chatted happily with the girls. The kids around them eventually joined in and answered some of the questions. Everything went fine and their professor even behaved himself reasonably well (much to his students' relief). Then the dinner was done and they rose to head for the port keys. The girls and Ellie trailed behind, Devin heading ahead with a friend to let them say good bye, dragging out their time.

To their shock Mr. Malfoy, sans son, stopped them during their wanderings in the halls. He did not look pleased. None of the girls said anything as they watched him. No one knew what he would pull away from the teachers.

"Ms. Henderson," he started, clearly hanging on to his manners by his fingernails, "I don't know if you are aware of the childish and insulting prank your sister played on my son but I would hope that, as a more mature young woman, you would help explain to your sister how serious this is." Ellie stared, unable to think of a response for a second.

"From what I understand," she answered slowly, moving her hand toward her wand without thinking about it, "the teachers here haven't figured out who played the prank. And to accuse my sister without proof is a risky thing to do with Americans, Mr. Malfoy." The condescending look on his face melted into a cold expression that didn't intimidate the woman one bit.

"I want your sister punished for what she did," he ground out. Ellie raised an eyebrow.

"If she is proven to be guilty then she will be. But at the moment that hasn't happened, and looking through her old school records isn't going to get you anywhere." The four girls, who had seen Malfoy lose his temper before, winced at Ellie's reprimand.

"Why are the school records blacked out?" He didn't think there was any answer for that and was surprised when she responded immediately.

"Because they don't like you." He gaped, unable to believe the upstarts smart tongue.

"You stupid witch," he finally snarled.

"No, actually, I'm quite smart. So are they. So leave them alone. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to miss my portkey if I don't leave. Nice to meet you." With that she led the girls around the pissed off wizard and hurried down the hall. He stared in fury at her for a moment before spinning on his heel and storming away. Ellie paused at the first corner and looked back to see if he was still looking. When she realized he wasn't she waved her wand at him and smiled.

"Now that is childish," she announced, watching the back with the "kick me" sign on it disappear.

"I can't believe you did that," Lizi gasped once they were out of ear shot. They hurried down the hall, conscious of the fact that Ellie had only five minutes to find her class.

"Yeah, well, he pissed me off," Ellie said unapologetically. Her sister just shook her head, used to Ellie's brazenness when her temper was pricked. "Listen." Just before they entered the part of the lawn with the portkeys she turned to face them. "What you are is not illegal and defending yourself isn't either. If you feel threatened protect yourself, alright?" They all nodded.

"Just," Ellie winced and lowered her voice, leaning towards them, "don't destroy the school or anything. They'll get really pissed if you destroy a thousand year old school and we're running out of places that'll take you." They grinned at her and promised not to destroy Hogwarts. Ellie looked reassured and hugged each one, starting with Ravan and ending with Emi.

"I'll see you at Christmas," she told her sister as they held on tightly. "It'll be great."

"Yeah. Tell everyone hi for me." Emi didn't want her sister to go, she hadn't seen anyone from home in weeks.

"I will. You'll be fine. Just stay away from that Malfoy."

"His son's in my House and he rules it." Ellie laughed as she pulled away.

"Of course he is. Just don't do anything stupid."

"Promise."

"Okay." With one last look around she headed off, taking Devin's hand as she reached the group.

"You know," Ravan observed as they watched the college kids start to disappear, "she never did tell us exactly what the relationship was between her and Devin." The others frowned as they thought about it.

"You're right, she didn't," Emi said. "Well, I'll just have to ask her later."

"Good luck," Jewl laughed. Emi shot her a dark look and sighed.

"Oh, shut up. Let's head back." Emi lead the way back to the castle.

"Library?" Lizi suggested.

"Library," Jewl agreed tiredly. They were really in there a lot. As they walked in, looking for a table, they saw Ron exiting. He took one look at them and bolted out of the room.

"What is his problem?" Jewl asked crossly, too worn out to be sweet. The others looked at each other and then burst out laughing. "What?"

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**A/N: so yeah, tell us how it was. the more feedback the better. r&r see ya!**


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